Another bicyclist pulled over; same officer involved in four recent cases

Each of the four bicyclists known to have been pulled over by the Park City Police Department since June was stopped by the same police officer, the department acknowledged this week.

The fourth known case occurred on June 19 at 11:57 p.m. in Prospector. Rick Ryan, a police captain, said the officer stopped a bicyclist at the intersection of Sidewinder Drive and Comstock Drive. The officer issued the bicyclist a warning for riding what the police described as an ill-equipped bicycle.

Ryan did not have details about what might have been wrong with the bicycle, but he said it is likely it might not have been outfitted with reflectors. Bicycles are required to have reflectors, he said. Without them, it is dangerous for a bicycle to be ridden at night, Ryan said.

"If it’s nighttime, for example, and there’s nothing to reflect the bicycle is moving, it could be struck by a car," he said.

The Police Department did not have details about the bicyclist who was stopped on June 19.

The case was at least the fourth involving an officer stopping a bicyclist since June. It was rare for a police officer to pull over a bicyclist prior to the recent string of cases.

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The other cases were:

on Norfolk Avenue, where the officer watched a bicyclist ride through a stop sign without stopping first

on Meadows Drive, where the officer stopped a bicyclist after watching the person ride through a stop sign

on Lucky John Drive, after the officer witnessed a bicyclist riding through a stop sign

Bicyclists are required to follow traffic laws like stopping at stop signs. The officer has issued warnings, the police have said.

"The cyclists also have to adopt the same things the motorists are doing to keep the community safe," Ryan said.

Ryan declined to identify the officer who pulled over the four bicyclists. He said the officer has adopted bicyclist safety as a community-oriented policing emphasis. Community-oriented policing aims to educate people about laws and it is seen as being less dramatic than typical police enforcement.